Gravity
by The Liquid Sky
Summary: Mulder's heart is breaking...is the answer in the stars?


Gravity.html

  


Title: Gravity  


Classification: MSR  


Rating: PG  


Spoilers: Through the sixth season...just in case I mention something by mistake.  


Disclaimer: The characters that appear are the property of Chris Carter, The Fox  


Network, and 1013 Productions. I am not making any money from their use.  


Summary: Mulder's heart is breaking, is the answer in the stars?  


Notes: This is practice to keep my writing skills sharp. I hope that you enjoy it.  


All feedback is appreciated, however flames are for marshmallows, so keep'em.  


Thanks to Andrea for your comments, and thanks to MP for getting me started with  


the Files.  


Archive? Sure, just keep my name and email addy attached. Also, let me know where  


to look for them.  


  


Gravity  


by The Liquid Sky  


Elliottca@Nku.edu  


  


  


J. Edgar Hoover Building  


Friday 4:22 P.M.  


Fourth Floor Records Department  


Desk Number 19.  


  


Mulder leaned back in his chair with an impatient sigh. The grunt work 

  


was killing him, but he had resolved himself to outlasting Kersh, and everyone else  


that thought he was washed up. He stared down at the screen in front of him, the  


same file that he'd started on at noon. He heard Scully gathering her things behind  


him, and pretended not to notice.  


" You want to tag along Mulder? A few of the agents from Fraud and 

Wire  


Tapping are getting together for beers at Casey's."  


" Tag Along? Come on Scully, you know I don't "Tag Along" well. You 

go on,  


you still have a chance socially and I've got some work to finish here. Besides, a 

  


pretty woman like you should be kicking up her heels on a Friday night."  


" Give me a break Mulder, they invited us, it's not like you're crashing."  


" Invited us? As in, " Hey Scully, join us for a beer?"  


" Semantics Mulder. Tell you what, you stay here sulking, and I'll 

see you on  


Monday."  


" Sulking? I thought that you recognized this as brooding. All of your 

  


magazines say that women find brooding sexy."   


" Not this woman." And with that, she wove her way between desks 18, 

17,  


and 16, and was gone.  


Mulder felt a pang of longing as he watched her walking away. He shut 

down  


his computer, and picked up his jacket. Scully was right, he was being a jerk. No 

one  


was going to beg him to be friendly, and Scully was there. He could be comfortable  


with her anywhere. He wound his way through the desks just as Scully had done a  


few minutes before, and stood in front of the elevator. Mulder watched the numbers  


light up, as the elevator ascended noiselessly from the first floor. He felt his heart 

  


sink. What was I thinking? he thought. Scully needs time with her friends, time to 

be  


normal, down time. He stepped into the elevator and pressed G on the panel. Yep,  


he thought, another Friday night at home. Alone.  


  


  


Casey's Pub  


5:30 P.M.  


  


Scully poured her beer, and brought it to her lips. It was perfectly 

chilled just  


like she liked it. She checked the doorway once again, and was not surprised that  


Mulder was not standing there. She thought back to the conversation that they had  


just before she left, Mulder could be so self deprecating sometimes. It came and  


went like the phases of the moon. Must be one of his seasons, she thought. Scully  


looked up quickly as a hand came up to her shoulder.   


"Hey Scully, Harper here says that he's a better shot than me. We need 

a  


witness, would you want to come out to the range with us a little later?"  


She looked up at the two men supporting each other against the edge of the booth  


that she occupied.  


" You two seem drunk, maybe you shouldn't go back to the Bureau this  


evening. Maybe you guys should grab a taxi and call it a night. How'd you get so   


drunk this quickly anyway?"  


Dennis swayed, and spilled beer on Dana's sleeve, she grabbed a cocktail napkin,  


and dabbed at the spot that was growing on her jacket.  


" I'm s-sorry." Dennis leaned towards her with another napkin, and 

spilled   


beer onto her lap. " Oh gosh Scully, I am so sorry. Why don't I just go sit down?"  


Scully stood up, and wiped at her lap. I shouldn't have come here, she thought.   


Dennis and Harper sloshed themselves over to the jukebox, and began singing with  


two women from Tax Evasion. Mulder wasn't coming. She sighed deeply, blowing a  


loose strand of hair from her brow. The women seated next to her had involved   


themselves in a conversation about men. Scully didn't feel like she had anything to  


add. Michelle from Fraud had asked her where Mulder was, but Scully could hear the  


implication in the woman's tone. The question of the evening was 'Where is Spooky?"  


and why had he left Mrs. Spooky to her own devices on a perfectly fine Friday   


evening. Scully wondered why herself. She picked up her bag, and left a tip on the  


table. She felt their eyes boring into her back as she let the door close gently behind  


her. A brisk walk will do me some good, she thought. Scully crossed her arms over  


her chest, and began walking.  


  


Mulder's Apartment  


6:15 P.M.  


Mulder pulled his t-shirt over his head, and sat down at his computer. 

He   


had come home to find that two of his five fish were dead. Of course, he thought. 

  


This day had been a complete loss. From the moment that he'd dragged himself off  


the couch 20 minutes late, until the moment when Scully walked out on him. Is that  


what you really think? He asked himself. Walked out on you? Mulder pulled up his  


journal, and began typing. This was the only place where Scully loved him back.  


Dana,  


I watched you again today. Chewing your lip when Kersh called. Smiling smugly  


after you turned in your completed reports four days early. I felt your triumph as 

my  


own, as I so often share in your victories. I saw the relief in your eyes as I ran 

in--  


you know that I am never late. I haven't been sleeping at all lately, but it's worse 

than  


before. You have haunted my waking hours for so long, I am surprised that it's taken  


six years for you to invade my sleep as well. I have been avoiding you because I  


can't bear to be with you any longer. I want to be free of you. I don't want to need 

you  


this way, but I can't help myself. You are my Jupiter, and I am your Ganymede.You  


keep me in your orbit by the magnetism of your soul. I could no more break free   


from your gravity than a distant moon that circles, and careens towards it's lover  


only to be sent spiraling away. Someday, I'll have the courage to say these words  


to you, but for now, I am content to watch, and wait, while you destroy and rebuild  


me daily.   


  


Mulder rubbed his eyes, and stretched. The clock on his computer read 

6:30.  


You're pathetic, Mulder. He got up, and went to his bedroom. He felt as though he  


could sleep the entire weekend away, and with little chance of seeing Scully, there  


was no reason not to. Mulder unplugged his telephone, closed his blinds, undressed,  


and slid into his bed. He pulled the blankets up over his head, and waited for sleep  


to envelop him.  


  


Mulder's Apartment  


8:15  


  


Scully stood outside of Mulder's door and traced the 4 with her index 

finger.  


How many times have I stood here? She asked herself. How many times have I  


raced over here, convinced that Mulder was dead, only to find him no worse for the  


wear? Maybe he's on a date? What if he brought her back here? You'll be   


interrupting, and you'll feel like---you won't sleep until you know that he's all 

right.  


He hasn't answered his phone in nearly two hours. Yes, maybe Mulder had met  


someone since you left him alone on a Friday night. He had been sending her   


signals that something was amiss all day. Every time she looked up at him, he was  


averting his eyes, as if he had been staring at her. Why did he have to be so cryptic?  


And why has he been avoiding me? We haven't had lunch together in at least a  


month. Something is wrong, and I'll apologize profusely if it's nothing, but I know  


that Mulder would want me to keep tabs on him. It's what we've agreed to. She   


raised her hand from the numbers, and knocked sharply three times. Mulder did   


not answer. She knocked again, and waited. There was still no response. She   


reached into her pocket, and pulled out her key ring. Scully found Mulder's key  


right away, and pushed it into the lock. She turned the bolt, and pushed the door  


open, hoping that she would not hear the sounds that she was terrified to hear;  


Mulder gasping in the throes of death or passion. The only sound was the steady  


electric hum of his computer, which cast a silvery white light across his desk top.  


She let her eyes adjust to the dimmed apartment, and listened for sounds coming  


from his bedroom, there was still nothing. Maybe he's out, she thought. She   


scanned the room briefly, looking for evidence that he had gone out for the evening.  


She saw his gun, and his cell phone on the cocktail table, and a half eaten pizza  


congealing in it's rippled cardboard box. He's probably just sick, and went to bed  


early, she thought. She crept over to his bedroom door, and opened it softly. It  


squeaked despite her efforts. She peered into the darkened room, and heard him  


breathing deeply. Mulder must be exhausted, she thought. I'll write him a quick  


note, just to let him know that I was here, and I'll be on my way. She closed his 

  


door, and crossed the living room to his desk. He kept his pens and paper in the   


middle drawer. Scully pulled the drawer open, and saw her name on the screen.  


It's addressed to me, she thought. As her eyes made their way down the paragraph,  


she felt a lump rising in her throat, and caught a tear that slid down her cheek.  


Mulder had poured his heart out to his journal in a way she didn't know he was  


capable of. She suddenly felt awful for reading his thoughts. She felt awful for  


not realizing how much he loved her, and she felt awful for pushing him away.  


I'm terrified of how you make me feel, Mulder. You can't offer me the security that  


I really want. That Dana wants, her mind amended. Scully is perfectly happy with  


whatever Mulder is willing to give. She bowed her head in thought for a moment.   


Their future was riding on her decision, and she felt the weight of it crushing her  


heart. If you leave now, his secret is safe, and he will recover in time, to be his 

  


normal self again. Or, you can make the decision to stop breaking his heart, and tell  


him how you feel.  


Scully sat down on the couch and rubbed her palms together. Mulder 

  


always put her in a predicament. It's part of his charm, he can't help it. I am his  


Jupiter. The largest of planets in the universe, and he is my Ganymede, my largest  


moon. She smiled at his comparison, and knew what she had to do. She stood and  


crossed the room slowly, gliding into his bedroom on spun gossamer wings.  


She closed the door behind her, and watched his form rise and fall under the heavy  


blanket. The moonlight spilling through the slats of his blinds created blue grey 

  


ladders across his body. She stepped to the side of his bed, and pulled the blanket  


back. The snuffling sounds grew louder. She knelt down, and placed her hand on  


his cheek, feeling the roughness against her flattened palm. Her fingers smoothed  


over the bump in his nose, and the bow that formed his lips. He stirred, as she   


lifted the hair from his forehead, and pushed it back. She let her hand rest on his  


ear as he opened his eyes.  


Mulder closed his eyes again tightly. It was the dream again. Scully  


kneeling beside him, caressing his cheek. He could smell her perfume, her lotion,  


and her shampoo. She was a cloud of roses, delicate, ephemeral, and he loved her.  


He felt his throat constrict with longing. Why did she come to him? Why did she  


torture him so?  


" Go away, Scully."   


Dana let her hand hover above his cheek, unsure of how to proceed.   


" Mulder, I came to check on you, you didn't answer the phone or the 

door,  


I was worried. Are you all right?"  


Mulder reached out to her, waking completely as his hand grasped the tiny bones  


of her wrist. This was no dream, she is here, corporeal. Something must be wrong.  


He sat up fully awake, and aware of his nakedness.   


" What is it Scully? Is something wrong?"  


" I couldn't get in touch with you, and as per our agreement, I came 

to check  


up on you."  


" I'm okay, I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping lately."  


" Would you like to talk about it?" She sat on the edge of his bed, 

and   


watched him as he ran his hand through his hair.  


" It's nothing, Scully, just stress. I'll be okay after I get some 

sleep.You can  


go on home, I'm sure it's late."  


" It's not late at all. I'd really like to talk to you this evening, 

will you go some place with me?"  


He gave her a questioning look, and she reassured him with a gentle   


touch to his arm.  


" I promise, it will be worth it."   


" Give me a minute to get dressed."  


  


10:00 P.M.  


  


Scully slowed the car, and pulled into a half circular drive. Mulder  


looked out of the passenger window, and then back at Scully.   


" The observatory? Why are we here Scully?"  


" You'll see." She undid the latch on her seat belt, and got out  


of the car. Mulder followed her. She climbed the steps that led to the   


door, and it opened when she pushed it slightly.  


" I called in a favor with one of my lab partners from college.  


Come on in."  


Mulder looked around at the sparse furnishings, and the smooth round  


walls of the half dome building. Scully stood ahead of him, with a  


slight smile on her lips. He couldn't help but wonder what she was up  


to.   


Scully took his hand, and began to ascend a steel ladder that   


ended with a narrow platform. He had to wait for her to descend the  


second ladder before he could continue his ascent. As he stepped off  


the second ladder, he noticed the computers making minute adjustments  


to the large telescope that extended beyond the ceiling. There was a   


minor whirring sound as the telescope changed position.  


Scully looked into the scope and smiled.  


" There's something that I want you to see." She stepped away  


from the telescope, and he took her place. She heard him gasp in awe, as  


the giant, red, swirling mass filled his vision.  


" Scully this is beautiful, how did you--?"  


" I am your Jupiter, and you are my Ganymede. The gravity that  


you've felt over the years is my love for you, Mulder. I've always loved  


you." She took his hand and stared into his eyes.  


" Scully, I don't have anything to offer you."  


" You love me don't you?"  


He closed his eyes and nodded. Mulder felt relief flowing over him like  


the clouds that encircled the planet that defined his love.  


" I do, Scully."  


" Then that's enough for me." She took his hand, and he pulled  


her into his arms, embracing her, as he placed a soft kiss on her lips.  


  


  


The End.  


  


  


  


I hope that you enjoyed it, all emails will be answered. Thank you,  


The Liquid Sky.  


  



End file.
